David O. Russell‘s critical darling American Hustle ruled over its fellow award contenders at the North American box office this weekend, enjoying the best bump of any Oscar-nominated film.
Hustle was up a dazzling 28 percent over last weekend, grossing $10.6 million for the three-day portion of the long Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. The Sony and Annapurna Pictures title is expected to earn $12.3 million for the four days to end Monday with a domestic total of $118 million.
The period pic, starring Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence, is riding a wave of attention.
In addition to tying with Gravity for the most Oscar nominations (10), Hustle prospered at the Golden Globes on Jan. 12, taking home the award for best picture in the comedy or musical category, as well as for best actress (Adams) and best supporting actress (Lawrence).
VIDEO: 5 Breakout Stars at this Year’s Sundance Film Festival
And Saturday, American Hustle notched another victory winning the top award at the Screen Actors Guild ceremony.
The Weinstein Co.’s August: Osage County also enjoyed a notable bump from Oscar nominations for Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts (It didn’t earn a best picture nod). John Wells‘ adaptation of the stage play earned $7.6 million for the weekend, up 6 percent from last weekend. It is projected to earn $9.5 million for the four days, putting its domestic total at $19.8 million.
Osage County came in just ahead of Martin Scorsese‘s best picture nominee Wolf of Wall Street, which was down just 15 percent from last weekend, grossing $7.5 million for the three-days. The projected four-day gross is $8.9 million for a domestic total of $91.7 million for Paramount and Red Granite Pictures. Globally, Wolf has earned nearly $150 million.
Among other contenders for the top Academy Award, Her saw less of a bump, grossing $4.1 million for the three days, down 24 percent. The Warner Bros. film is expected to gross $4.8 million for the four days, pushing its domestic total to $15 million
Philomena was down even less than Wolf (11 percent), grossing $1.2 million for the three days and a projected $1.5 million for the four days, pushing the drama’s domestic total to $24.3 million.
Other best picture contenders all but done with their theatrical runs were rereleased over the weekend, including Warner Bros.’ Gravity, Sony’s Captain Phillips, Fox Searchlight’s 12 Years a Slave and Focus Features’ Dallas Buyers Club.
Gravity, coming in No. 16 overall, is expected to turn in $2.2 million for the four days, followed by 12 Years with $1.8 million. In particular, 12 Years — which won the Globe for best picture in the drama category — believes it has the potential to earn substantially more. The slavery drama’s domestic total to date is roughly $40 million.
STORY: The 20 Most Profitable Films of 2013
With domestic earnings of nearly $260 million and a worldwide total of $677 million, Gravity is by far the top-grossing best picture nominee.
Dallas Buyers Club — playing in only 419 theaters, compared to north of 900 for Gravity and Captain Phillips, and 761 for 12 Years — grossed $917,000 for the three-day weekend for a domestic total of $17.8 million.
Paramount’s best picture contender Nebraska, which has been holding back, narrowly edged out Dallas Buyers Club as it upped its theater count to 408, grossing $940,000 for a total $9.7 million. The film is planning another major expansion next weekend
Among the rereleases, Captain Phillips did the least business, taking in $550,000 (director Paul Greengrass and star Tom Hanks failed to earn Oscar nods, although the Somali pirate drama landed a nod for best picture). Captain Phillips has earned $105.7 million domestically and $215.3 million worldwide.
